Baker & Taylor, Inc. has
announced the selection of two key technology partners by Informata.com
(http://www.informata.com),
its new business-to-business e-commerce venture. In developing its product
offerings, Informata.com will incorporate technologies and products from
ibooks.com (http://www.ibooks.com),
a provider of customized solutions for online e-book access and viewing,
and DigitalOwl (http://www.digitalowl.com),
a provider of secure digital packaging, marketing, and syndication of premium
information content. Baker & Taylor will use Informata.com to develop
and deliver e-book selections to the public and academic library markets.

According to the announcement, Baker & Taylor’s offering is being
designed to provide library customers with access to premium collections
of e-books from premier book publishers. Informata.com will utilize ibooks.com
to support this new service, beginning with its online collection of more
than 1,400 IT reference books. The eBook Library service will be available
in January.

“Libraries are searching for ways to better utilize the Internet to
expand and enhance their business,” said Craig Richards, president and
CEO of Baker & Taylor and Informata.com. “Baker & Taylor’s extensive
history in support of library customers provides us tremendous insight
into the requirements of this market. The integration with these leading-edge
technology companies will enable us to provide our customers with the seamless
solution they have been asking for from a company they have grown to trust.”

“Most observers and participants in the emerging e-book marketplace
agree that immense value can be added to reference books by making them
available online in electronic form,” said Sean Devine, vice president
of business development at ibooks.com. “We are pleased to be involved in
such a significant partnership that fulfills the promise of e-books to
the market.”

Informata.com’s use of DigitalOwl’s patent-pending KineticEdge software
allows Baker & Taylor to provide library patrons with the opportunity
to search, access, and use collections online and, with its secure and
simple check-out process, download books for viewing on Palm and other
PDA devices. The service will offer libraries new usage models for e-book
content, including pay-per-view, patron purchase, annual subscription,
and automatic timeout/renewal.

“Our focus has been on delivering a superior consumer experience for
accessing, acquiring, and viewing digital content on a variety of computer,
hand-held, and wireless devices,” said Kirstie Chadwick, president and
CEO of DigitalOwl. “Our selection by Informata.com and Baker & Taylor
allows us to extend this focus to libraries, a rapidly growing segment
of the digital content market.”